sxugaryx - Tumblr blog

sxugaryx · 10 days

Text

A (Somewhat) Return to Normalcy (Fanfic)

New chapter from my main series 🩷

“Alexander honestly when you said you would come I thought you were joking”

Geppetto was there to see his good friend at Krat Central Station. A week had passed since everything (sort of) went back to normal.

“Of course I needed to come, you are having a hard time and I need to be there for you, not to mention I’m currently on vacation so a nice visit to Krat works” Alexander was carrying a suitcase, happy to be in Krat again, “I will see what the Grand Exhibition has prepared, can’t wait to see your hard work”

The station was full, after all the Grand Exhibition would start the day after tomorrow, and people from all around Europe had come to see it, even a few from other continents. The event will last an entire week, all with different conventions, displays, stands, future projects, and more.

While they made their way to Hotel Krat they started to make conversation.

“When I told Lady Antonia she insisted on me staying in one of her deluxe rooms, she simply wouldn’t take no for an answer, honestly I feel a little bad for such a generous offer” Alexander had a smile, “She is a wonderful woman”

“Don’t worry too much about it, Hotel Krat is full by now, I assure you she is making great money out of this entire situation” Geppetto explained how thrilled Antonia was about the Grand Exhibition.

“It is a shame I wasn’t able to stay at your home, but I understand that there is no space with you and your son” Alexander admired the streets of Krat while walking.

“Really? You wanted to stay with us rather than a fancy Hotel?” Geppetto seemed surprised.

“I wanted to stay by your side” Alexander got a little closer to Geppetto, “Who knows maybe we could have even shared a bed”

“Huh? What?” Geppetto was a little flustered.

Alexander laughed “I’m only half joking of course”

“Half joking?”

“Well, I did get dumped by my boyfriend before coming here so, I might be in a small flirty mood”

“I’m sorry” Geppetto didn’t know that, he was starting to feel bad.

“Don’t be, it turns out he left me for a younger man” Alexander tried to say that casually but one could tell he was as furious as he was heartbroken.

“Oh wow” Geppetto rolls his eyes, the nerve of some people, “So I guess you are single again”

“Technically I’ve always been a confirmed bachelor” Alexander was teasing Geppetto, “Mmm maybe you and I should get together”

“If you are being this flirty now, I wonder how it would be after going out for drinks” Geppetto wondered if he should invite Venigni, it should be good for him to meet Alexander, and Antonia to see him in person after so many years.

“Did you already forget the fun things we did while studying?” Alexander had a smug grin on his face, “Remember when-”

“No no no don’t bring them up here in public!” Geppetto was mortified, “I wouldn’t be able to live with it if people knew those sorts of things”

There is a reason he avoids his previous classmates who are now his coworkers like the plague, they know about what he was up to and he is very thankful they have never shared any of that embarrassing stuff.

“I’m just saying that I don’t blame others back them for thinking we were secret boyfriends” Alexander joked, “Say how is Pinocchio? Strange he didn’t come with you”

“Oh he fell asleep while reading so he couldn’t come” His son had fallen asleep at his room desk, “So I put him to bed so he could rest properly”

“Wait what?” Alexander was shocked, “You can carry him?!”

“I’m stronger than I look under these clothes” Geppetto works at a factory, years of moving and carrying puppets or other materials would do that to you, he builds things, this isn't an office job, “I mean it’s not as if I can give him a piggyback ride but I can carry him well enough for at least a few seconds”

When Pinocchio first realized that, he looked so delighted, asked his father to “please please please” carry him, so Geppetto did, he managed to hold him for half a minute before it was too much for him.

“Look at that, I have a handsome Hercules by my side”

“Was the breakup that bad?”

“As I said, half joking” Alexander replied, “Although my plan worked”

“Your plan?” Geppetto was confused.

“You are smiling so my job of making your life less hard for the next few days is working well” Alexander had planned this from the start, well he didn't plan about his boyfriend dumping him but you get the idea.

Geppetto was already in a better mood, after having to deal with the awfulness of Arlechino and his stressful work life, he needed a break, even if they still don’t know much more about the alchemists a victory is a victory.

—---

“Pinocchio I'm so happy to see you” Alexander had missed him so much, they had gone to eat breakfast together the next morning.

They had a lot of catching up to do.

The conversation is interrupted when a group of coworkers approaches Geppetto to ask a few important questions, so he has to excuse himself from the table.

“Father has had a lot of work recently” Pinocchio looked a little down, “He can’t get a break, not even when he isn’t supposed to be working”

Something similar happened recently when Pinocchio was spending time with his father. Geppetto apologized, the problem is that the event is something huge for Krat, it was already canceled once and they cannot afford it to be a failure now. Despite this, Geppetto feels guilty, he feels as if he is failing Pinocchio like he failed Carlo.

“I’m making him a gift so he feels better,” Pinocchio said with a smile.

“That’s so thoughtful of you” Alexander smiled back.

Pinocchio began to explain his gift, the surprise he had for his father, the boy was so full of joy, for a moment a part of him wanted to have a child. He is too old for that and not something realistic, yet Pinocchio is that vibrant.

Because he was now having peace, everything that had to do with The King of Riddles was killing him due to the pressure.

“I’m almost done, I’m going to give it to him when he returns from work”

“I’m sure he’ll love it”

Speaking of work, Alexander is going to be given a tour of the factory, since it's only when Geppetto has “free” time (although it's more an excuse for Alexander to be there without trouble).

Geppetto gave him a special invitation to attend any event he wanted at the Grand Exhibition, he isn’t the only person to get that, there is a special group of people that were chosen for this, people with exceptional work skills, there will more in-depth conversations with them about puppets or other projects. It is a great honor, anyone who attends surely will have countless new work endeavors in the future, an opportunity of a lifetime.

—-

No wonder Geppetto has been having a hard time, Alexander keeps hearing gossip behind the man’s back, people seem to specifically be talking about his son.

“I’m sorry that you have to deal with all of this” Geppetto apologized.

“Why are you apologizing? They are trash-talking you, not me”

“I know, it’s hard to take action when anyone can claim I’m just using my position of authority to silence others”

As Alexander kept on checking the factory, he started to realize opinions were more divided. Half of the workers have a great deal of respect for Geppetto, his work endeavors have gained him fame, everything goes according to plan due to him, and he constantly gets exceeding results, going above everyone’s expectations.

More than that, there is a reason he is the director/president of this union, not just because he first invented the puppets, but rather because he goes above and beyond for the union to succeed, people like him because instead of being a controlling overbearing boss, he is kind to the workers.

Obviously, not everyone is going to like you, still, Alexander finds it odd that there is such extreme divisiveness, he has lived this work drama before. So he can already conclude someone is making Geppetto’s reputation worse to rally others against him.

And speak of the devil, Alexander could see Geppetto biting his tongue as soon as he saw Conrad. After exchanging not-so-pleasant pleasantries, a conversation took place.

“Geppetto did you consider about what we spoke of the other day?” Conrad is referring how he passive-aggressively asked Geppetto if he would show off Pinocchio at the Grand Exhibition.

“Pinocchio is coming as a guest, that’s all” He is also only attending on the first day, no reason making his son die of boredom by staying at his side all the time the rest of the week.

The man had a smirk on his face “Then I can’t wait to see your puppet son with you there” Conrad left, saying how there was something that needed his supervision.

His puppet son, people keep referring to Pinocchio like that, do they really have no shame? Alexander is an inventor, he can understand the curiosity of how Pinocchio was built, but all these comments are going too far.

Then he gets an idea, so when Geppetto is a little busy talking with others he decides to make a phone call.

“Hello?” Pinocchio answered the phone, it felt good to answer it without fear.

“Hi Pinocchio is me, Alexander, I wish to know, did you finish your father’s gift?” A few hours had passed, and Alexander was hoping that was the case.

“Yeah I did, why?” Pinocchio asked; Gemini could be heard in the background telling the boy to speak more formally.

“I think your surprise will be way better if you came here all the way here to show him your hard work”

“Really?” Pinocchio sounded excited from the other line.

“Of course” Alexander continued, “I’ve known your father for many years, the surprise will be so special”

The plan was set, he just had to do a few more things, so when he went back he knew what to do.

“Venigni will join us later today” Geppetto explained, “He is talking with some investors at the moment, knowing him, everything will go swell”

When Geppetto stopped the conversation, it was when Alexander had his chance.

“I must say, I’m very impressed about the facilities, if only we had only a fraction of the technology you have here in London,” Alexander said, “But can we speak in private for a moment?”

Emphasis on private so others would overhear.

Geppetto didn’t find it strange, he assumed Alexander wanted to catch up so he decided to take him to a current unoccupied testing room.

“I know it has been a couple of months but it has felt like an eternity since I last saw you” Alexander can’t believe how slowly time is passing, he is supposed to be getting old, and time should fly by like it was nothing.

“Oh you have no idea how time passed for me these past couple of months” Geppetto sighed.

“Maybe I should get a gift for Pinocchio, my schedule isn’t stable and who knows when I will see you or him again”

“It’s going to be a very early gift, considering his birthday is in 3 months” Geppetto smiled thinking about it, “I can’t believe he is only turning 2 years old, I should tease him more about him being my little boy”

Pinocchio certainly is more mature than what most give him credit for, but if you were to ask Geppetto his son acts more like a teen rather than a young kid, still, that won't stop Geppetto from teasing him.

The conversation then evolved into catching up about their work affairs, Alexander saying how the project they worked on had been a huge success, then brainstorming a few ideas. If they ever got the chance again, working together would be lovely. The conversation sounded almost professional, but that’s how Alexander talks normally, aside from when he is teasing.

“I’ll be back in a moment, just need to use the restroom” With that said, Alexander excused himself.

Alexander entered the other side of the testing room, where there was a hidden glass to see the results, it sort of works as the ones certain police stations have. It tests the abilities of newcomers as having someone directly looking at them gave them unnecessary stress and it worked well in the end since it shows how well they can work alone, with their full concentration in one task.

Plenty of Geppetto’s coworkers were there, he knew that they were spying on both of them, wanting to catch a glimpse of information about Pinocchio. Alexander had his plan set, he was a little nervous but he had a confident aura, this will work out, he is certain of it.

Harvey and other board members were here, the only two not present were Conrad and Venigni.

There was a brief period of small talk when Alexander looked at the clock, Pinocchio would arrive soon.

“I know how Pinocchio was built,” Alexander said casually.

That instantly caught the attention of everyone, all of them asking him dozens of questions before he simply put his hand up for them to stop talking.

“Pinocchio is going to show up in a few minutes, then all of you will know the answer”

All of them ignored how odd that was, they didn’t question it, Alexander was about to reveal to all of them how Pinocchio was built, what the secret behind that marvel of technology was, all paying intense attention to the other side, awaiting Geppetto to make a slip-up and reveal the truth.

“Father!” Pinocchio had found his father, having a big smile on his face.

“Huh? Pinocchio what are you doing here?” Geppetto was confused, “Is something wrong?”

“No” Pinocchio got closer to his father, he had something behind his back, “It’s the opposite, it’s something good, I got you a gift!”

“A gift?” Geppetto smiled, “You came all the way here to give me a gift?”

Pinocchio nodded enthusiastically, giving his father the wrapped box he had hidden.

Geppetto pulled on the bow opening it, inside was a wooden music box.

“I made it!” Pinocchio was almost jumping up and down in joy.

Alexander faintly smiled, that boy is as precious as his father says, he could tell the others were wondering where this was going, they’ll see.

Geppetto grabbed the music box examining it carefully, it was so detailed.

The outside was painted black having gold accents, and shapes that gave it a distinct elegant look, like something you would find in a high-class type of store. It has a drawer on the outside to put small things inside, such as jewelry or letters.

Opening the box it revealed a small white rabbit, it had rosy cheeks and blue eyes, a blue ribbon on its neck; it would spin around with the music, it was a simple yet fitting melody. On the inside was a small painting of a field in nighttime, with beautiful stars and the moon. His son is such a talented artist.

“Pinocchio…” Geppetto couldn’t believe it, it was so beautiful, and it worked perfectly as intended, “Thank you, son”

Pinocchio hugged his father, telling him that he loved him.

Father and son started talking, Pinocchio saying how his music lessons with Antonia went, telling his father about the book he had been reading recently, talking about the fun he had with Gemini…

No one was saying anything yet the atmosphere began to change as they watched the interaction, father and son bonding. Many people in the room had children, young or grown up by now, they saw themselves on the two of them, getting a cheerful feeling, yet also another feeling.

Guilt.

Have they truly been treating Geppetto’s son unfairly? No, he is just a puppet, right? Many puppets are programmed to act friendly, and pleasantly, surely this is only-

“Um, father” Pinocchio’s tone of voice had changed, “Are you… feeling better now?”

Pinocchio is worried because his father has been so stressed by the planning of the Grand Exhibition. People all around the world are coming to see this, this isn’t just his hard work, it’s the hard work of countless people.

It’s supposed to show what the people of Krat are capable of making, to show the world what they have made, if this fails, if the public doesn’t like it, what would they think of the people of Krat?

What would the people of Krat do if this fails? Was this all a waste? Was all the years of effort worthless in the end?

He can’t let them down, Geppetto can’t fail when there are so many people counting on him.

“Yes, of course son” It’s a lie, an obvious lie to everyone, including Pinocchio.

“I can do something!” Pinocchio gets a little closer to his father, he has no true idea of all the organizing that has to be put into planning this, still, he wants to help, “If I help you with anything then you have less work and you won’t get stressed and-“

“Pinocchio is my job to worry about you, not the other way around” Geppetto pats his son’s head, “Everything will be okay, I can handle all this work”

The guilt intensifies, here is this sweet boy who most have only seen him as an object, even those who didn’t see him as that would see him as a regular puppet, being polite about Geppetto’s wishes to treat him as his son.

That is his son, who loves and worries about his father. What difference there is as if he was human?

“Geppetto build him with love” Alexander knows that probably sounds extremely corny.

Sometimes the truth is simple.

Even if Geppetto didn’t build Pinocchio under the best of circumstances, the love put into making him is clear to everyone, the same love he has to take care of him, to give him the life he deserves.

“Now” Alexander spoke up again, “I believe all of you owe that man and his son an apology”

After that, Alexander returned to talk with Geppetto, pretending to be surprised that Pinocchio was there with him, although Geppetto would love to have Pinocchio with him, he has to go back to work.

They decided to continue on their tour, and that’s when Geppetto noticed a lot of people would come to him and apologize from time to time.

“Geppetto I wanted to apologize, for the way everyone has talked about your son, me included” Harvey looked ashamed, yes he was kind to Pinocchio but he would be lying to himself if he said that he didn’t see him more as a marvel of technology rather than his actual son.

“There is no need to overwork yourself, if you need my help, I will be available at all times, that’s my duty as subdirector” Harvey knows that everyone is getting too comfortable letting Geppetto do so much work by himself.

“Although I do need to inform you that unfortunately, I’ve discovered an issue with the disruption crystals, I believe that-“

“Father!” Pinocchio suddenly appeared behind them, he hugged Geppetto, he was acting affectionate, more than usual.

Geppetto knew why already so he crossed his arms.

He put his two index fingers together, “Can I have some money? Pretty please?”

“What about your allowance?” Geppetto’s voice was stern.

“I haven’t wasted it or anything!” Pinocchio defended himself, “I saw something nice for Mother, but I couldn’t afford it”

“What are you getting her that’s so expensive?” Geppetto was being comprehensive, “You know she will love everything you give her no matter how simple, you don’t need to get her something extravagant”

“I tried to explain to him the same thing” Gemini chirped from his cage, “Not only that but Pinocchio I told you, everything there is normal things that get the luxury label to sound fancier”

Pinocchio could hear a sigh of frustration behind him, someone wasn’t happy to see him, he turned around and stood behind his father when he saw who it was.

“Geppetto for the millionth time, your puppet can’t be here” Conrad was fuming, “It’s distracting everyone from valuable work progress”

Corand was no longer being passive-aggressive, his anger taking over him, as it turns out, what he was supervising wasn’t going well, in fact, it took a complete left turn derailing everything in such a crucial time, so he decided to take it out on others.

Geppetto also wasn’t happy, “My son is causing no trouble, everything is going according to plan, there is no reason to give ourselves unnecessary stress”

Conrad had no choice but to admit that things on his side weren’t going that well, Pinocchio could feel the tension, he started to feel uncomfortable, Alexander put one of his hands on his shoulder to reassure him.

“I see” Geppetto was trying to calm himself, “I’ll be there in a moment, I-”

“Geppetto this has to be fixed now”

“Then why is it that you can’t do it yourself? You are the supervisor of the quality control department, this is your responsibility”

“Do you want the Grand Exhibition to go well or not?” Conrad snapped, “I can expect it to be a disaster when it’s under the leadership of someone like you”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Geppetto was confronting him, and other workers were looking at the argument.

“You truly don’t expect us to believe that a man like you, who treats a puppet-”

“Pinocchio is my son, he is in front of you and you will refer to him as such”

Pinocchio was getting mad, how dare he speak to his father this way? Like the previous time, Pinocchio’s anger made him get loud, this time his springs were reacting loudly.

Alexander tried to grab Pinocchio’s hand, he wanted to take him out of there so he wouldn’t see this but Pinocchio spoke up before he could grab him.

“Stop being rude to my father!” Pinocchio shouted.

Conrad let out a groan of frustration, “You better control your puppet because it’s only making things worse”

“This is the last time I will say it, Pinocchio is my son and you will treat him with the respect he deserves” Geppetto was done with him, with his attitude, he will no longer take his abuse for the sake of formalities.

Conrad was also done with Geppetto and decided to let his true feelings out.

“Get over it okay?!” Conrad seethed, “Carlo is dead, stop being delusional that this thing is your son, it’s a god-dammed puppet no matter how flashy it looks!”

Both Geppetto and Pinocchio were about to say that he isn’t Carlo when Conrad shouted something first.

“I don’t care if that machine is your do-over baby because you couldn’t protect your real son, get that thing out of here!”

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

“You are fired”

“What?” Conrad thought he didn’t hear him correctly.

“I said that you are fired, effective immediately” Geppetto was calm, yet his eyes showed another story, “You can say what you want about me but I will not tolerate you or anyone else talk badly about my son ever again”

“You are joking right?” Conrad couldn’t believe it, how dare he fire him?!

“I don’t know who you think you are, that you believe can talk to my son that way without consequences, don’t answer, I don’t care, I want you gone by the end of the day” Geppetto was unforgiving in his calm fury.

“We should leave” Alexander whispered to Pinocchio, who was still angry about how Conrad spoke about his father and brother but he listened to Alexander and left the scene with him.

“You can’t fire me” Conrad looked confident, thinking that Geppetto was bluffing.

“I can, and I’m doing it right now, I’m the president of the union I have the authority to do so” Geppetto stood his ground, “Do you truly believe that behavior you have been showing is appropriate for any employee of this company?”

That’s when Conrad finally realized Geppetto was serious, “You can’t fire me when the Grand Exhibition opening is tomorrow, what will you do without someone in my position?”

“I can think of several candidates off the top of my head that can fill your position”

“This is why you aren’t fit to be the leader of this union” Conrad tried to rally up others to take his side, “Not only are you abusing your position to fire me like that, but you seriously think that we should listen to a man like you? Who likes to play pretend happy family?”

Except no one took his side, even if they still agreed with him, the way he was speaking to Geppetto made everyone see how entitled he was, and how he thought he was above others.

It created a chain reaction, workers from Conrad’s department began to speak out about the verbal abuse they had to endure for him, and how they all took it because they didn’t want to lose their jobs.

“I believe that is you who is abusing your position of power” Harvey asserted himself then he took out a notebook and held it for all to see.

“I was going to see if we could have this meeting in private with the other board members but since you like to show off, care to explain why your signature is on several notices that disruption crystals have been delivered when that’s not the case?”

Conrad gasped, then covered his mouth due to the involuntary reaction, he had been caught, not only that, but it was clear to see that others weren’t going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

He was silent, not being able to come up with an excuse on the spot.

“You are fired and an internal investigation will start as soon as you leave the front doors” Geppetto now had to deal with the legal department, great, even when he is getting fired, Conrad makes his life harder.

Conrad didn’t protest, he knew that it was over, now afraid of what Frederick would do due to this issue. Surely unlike Geppetto, the doctor is someone can can be reasoned with right?

——

“I had no idea your son was such a talented pianist” Alexander was enjoying the show.

Pinocchio was playing the piano inside Hotel Krat, everyone around the lobby enjoying the performance.

“He is talented, although that talent wouldn’t have flourished without Antonia’s help” Geppetto loved seeing his son play such a captivating melody.

“Geppetto as usual you give me too much credit” Antonia smiled looking at her son.

When Pinocchio was done, his family and a few others clapped, it made him happy to see all were enjoying how he played, he isn’t used to having an audience.

“Let’s go home son” Geppetto grabbed Pinocchio’s hand.

Pinocchio loved to walk together with his father, so he waved goodbye to Alexander and his mother.

“Aren’t you going to spend the night with Mr. Alexander?” Pinocchio found it odd that his father was heading home with him.

“Tomorrow is the opening son, I can’t drink even the slightest I wouldn’t want to risk it”

“Can adults really not have fun without drinking?” Pinocchio doesn’t get that stuff, specially with how alcohol has affected him the times he drank it.

“We can, now don’t get sassy with me” Geppetto rolled his eyes.

Minutes passed walking in silence when Pinocchio spoke up again.

“Um, father…I’m sorry” Pinocchio was looking at the floor.

“Mmm, for what son?” Geppetto explained how he was only joking when he said that.

“No, for causing trouble at work, it must have been hard to fire that coworker”

Geppetto burst out laughing and Pinocchio looked at his father puzzled.

“Son, trust me, I loved it, this has made my week”

“But it’s Monday”

Pinocchio had a good time walking back home alongside his father. The Grand Exhibition, this time, he will have a good time inside, after all, he has his father by his side.

#lies of p #lop #liesofp #lies of p game #lies of p fanfic #ao3 link #this is in ao3 too #lies of p geppetto #lies of p pinocchio #lies of p original character #lies of p oc

1 note · View note